TYM Fund
Vietnam Women’s
Union
TYM – A PORTRAIT
MISSION
TYM stands for “Tao Yeu Mai” in Vietnamese, meaning “I love you” and is the international
name for the Mutual Affection Fund of the Vietnam Women’s Union. The Mission of the
Fund is to
Improve the quality of life and status of poor and low income
women by providing credit and savings to Fund members, creating
favourable conditions for their participation in economic activities
and enhancing their role in society.
Its Vision is to be
A leading provider of financial services to low income women and their
families. Rooted in the Vietnam Women’s Union, combining social
responsibility and professional excellence of its staff, TYM wants to be a
model of a best practice microfinance institution in Vietnam.
HISTORY
The TYM Fund was founded in 1992 by the Vietnam Women’s Union in order to help
implement the poverty alleviation programme of the Government. It originally followed the
Grameen banking model adapted to the specific context of Vietnam. During its 17 years of
operation, TYM Fund has assisted more than 60,000 poor women in overcoming
poverty, participating in community activities, and achieving a better social status.
Today, TYM has more than 45,000 women members in 10 Northern Vietnamese
provinces.
Starting with its second branch in 1995, TYM has developed a separate organization structure
and uses only professional staff for its operations. In 1998, the Fund was transformed from a
“project” into a regular Department of the Vietnam Women’s Union. As of January 2006,
TYM Fund became a separate legal entity (“Public Enterprise”), governed by a Board of
Directors. In July 2009 TYM submitted its Application to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)
for becoming a licensed Microfinance Institution under the Government Decree on
Microfinance (Decree 28/165). As several implementation guidelines are still missing and due
to changes in responsibilities within SBV, no Licence has been granted to any microfinance
institution yet.
Along the process of development, TYM has received financial and technical support from a
number of international organisations such as ACT, CARD, OXFAM America, German
Savings Banks Foundation, CORDAID, Ford Foundation, Rabobank and others Since 2006,
TYM has started to borrow significant amounts from social investors.
TARGET GROUP
Women having an income around the poverty line defined by the Vietnamese Government
(currently monthly income below VND 200.000 or USD 11) and meeting some other criteria
can become members of TYM. 30-40 members form a Center. In the Centers, all members
receive training on the policies and procedures of TYM and on basic business and financial
skills.
20 Thuy Khue st, Hanoi, Vietnam
ph. +84-4-3728-1003, 3728-1070 fax +84-4-3728-1071 e-mail: tymfund@vnn.vn
SERVICES
All TYM services are provided at the weekly or monthly Center meetings where loan
applications are discussed, repayments and savings collected. The Center also serves as a
meeting place, where experiences in business development are exchanged, the staff of TYM
and external experts provide training on family, gender, health, business skills, risk
management, and social activities are being carried out.
1) Loans
Loans are disbursed according to repayment capability and track record. Amounts start
with VND 1,000,000 up to a maximum of VND 25 million (USD 1,300). Tenors range
from 10 – 100 weeks. Interest rates are 1.0% per month. Payment of principal and interest
is effected weekly. Most loans are used for increasing income. There is also a multipurpose loan (emergency loan) with smaller amounts and shorter tenors which can be
used for consumption. As of March 2010, the 45,510 members of TYM had loans of
VND 224 billion (USD 12 million) outstanding, meaning an average loan amount of
VND 4.9 million (USD 259).
2) Savings
In order to build their own assets and to educate a savings habit, all TYM members make
weekly compulsory savings of VND 3,000 (USD 0.16) which earn an interest of 0.3% per
month and can be withdrawn after a certain minimum balance has been reached. TYM
also encourages its members to save on a voluntary basis, starting with amounts as little
as VND 5,000 (USD 0.26) per week. Recently TYM has started to develop new voluntary
savings products (term deposits) for its members. As of March 2010 the savings balance
of TYM members amounted to VND 48 billion (USD 2.5 million).
3) Mutual Assistance Fund
Each member contributes VND 1.000 (USD 0.05) per week to a Fund which provides life
and loan redemption insurance to members and their families and covers part of expenses
in the case of hospitalization. During 2009, the MAF insured 127,456 people, paid out
1,593 claims and reached total assets of VND 8.5 billion (USD 447,000).
ORGANISATION
TYM Fund has a total professional staff of 321 working in the Hanoi Head Office and in 43
Branches in 10 provinces (Hanoi, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong,
Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Phu Tho). 145 Technical Officers (loan officers) each serve
more than 350 members. The Hanoi Head Office comprises 22 regular staff (Operations,
Training, Accounting, Administration, IT) and 3 internal auditors.
Financial information is consolidated at Head Office on a monthly basis. TYM has achieved a
small surplus since 1999, which is reinvested into operations. Together with grants, capital
provided by the Women's Union and retained earnings, equity has reached VND 83 billion
(USD 4.4 million). In 2009, operational self-sufficiency was 128%.
CHALLENGES
TYM’s registration with the SBV will create conditions for accelerated growth. TYM will be
allowed to tap domestic funding resources and raise voluntary savings from its members and
the public. New challenges arise from higher demands by more mature clients, supervision by
SBV and growing linkages with lenders and partners all over the world. TYM will focus on
capacity building and training of staff, product development, improvements of governance
and organisation and diversification of its funding sources in order to reach its target of
135,000 clients by 2014. While professionalizing as institution, TYM will maintain its social
commitment to helping low income women in close cooperation with the Women’s Union.
March 2010
20 Thuy Khue st, Hanoi, Vietnam
ph. +84-4-3728-1003, 3728-1070 fax +84-4-3728-1071 e-mail: tymfund@vnn.vn
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